Aspire with The Ivy Dream

From Nigeria to Hotchkiss & Brown : Elaine Oghoore

Elaine Oghoore is a junior at Brown University, where she is pursuing a degree in Business Economics. Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, she is passionate about a career in financial services. Before attending Brown, Elaine graduated from The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.  In addition to her academic pursuits, she co-founded Sweet Rush Nigeria, a homemade bakery known for its delicious banana bread. Elaine is committed to combining her entrepreneurial spirit with a strong interest in finance to make an impact in the financial services industry. https://www.theivydream.com/ [https://www.theivydream.com/]

Fighter Jets to Stanford & Knight-Hennessy: Jasper Burns

Jasper Burns is a Stanford Law student and Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He served 8 years in the U.S. Navy, flying EA-18G Growlers, deploying aboard the USS Carl Vinson, and later supporting the intelligence community in D.C.  He also served as a White House Social Aide and concluded his Navy career as a Military Fellow at McKinsey & Company. He graduated from Boston University with a double major in Computer Science and Economics, interned at the White House, studied Chinese in Shanghai, and won the largest committee at World Model United Nations in Rome. https://www.theivydream.com/ [https://www.theivydream.com/]

Unique Stories of Ivy League Students

Michael Lee, member of the AIGAC & an Ivy League-educated Professional American Filmmaker, helps you weave an authentic story that leaves the admissions committee in awe! The Ivy Dream LLC is the only admissions consultancy that refunds 50% to clients if they don’t get in to one of their preferred schools. In this podcast, we humanize Ivy League students for you by sharing their unique journeys and struggles! We hope that this podcast gives you the audacity to fly and to “aspire” to get into a top school. https://www.theivydream.com/ [https://www.theivydream.com/]

The Ambitious Armenian | Columbia Undergrad & Harvard JD : Danielle Mikaelian

Danielle Mikaelian is a Columbia University graduate with a BA in English Literature. She occupied positions on over ten Columbia executive boards, being named Columbia's 2021 Student of the Year, a King's Crown Leadership and Excellence Award Recipient for Community Building, a Robert Harron Award recipient, an Alumni Prize Finalist, and a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary. Some highlights of Danielle's Columbia experience included serving as Wellness Chair for Columbia's undergraduate and graduate schools, being elected to the board of Columbia's Undergraduate Law Review, overseeing all student publications as Head of Publications for the Activities Board, and acting as President of the Columbia Armenian Society. She also interned at SAGE Publications, a major publishing company, for two summers in a row. Danielle built off her editorial experience at SAGE by becoming Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Women in Law and Politics Journal and acting as an editor for the Columbia Journal of History and Columbia Journal of Global Health. Danielle Mikaelian is currently in her third year at Harvard Law School. At Harvard Law, she is a Dean's Scholar Prize Recipient and an executive board member of the Harvard Association for Law and Business. Danielle Mikaelian has also worked as a Student Attorney for Harvard's Cyberlaw Clinic, Entrepreneurship Project, and Recording Artists Project. She has served as Co-Managing Editor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, a Submissions Editor for the Human Rights Journal, an Editor for the Business Law Review, and an Editor for the International Law Journal. For the past semester, she has been working alongside the Federal Reserve of Boston as a Legal Fellow.  Outside of school, Danielle Mikaelian is a published poet who has been named a 2024 Akerman Scholar, a 2024-2025 Ms. JD Fellow, a two time Huys Foundation Scholar, an Armenian Bar Association scholarship recipient, an Arisdine Krikorian scholarship recipient, a WhoWeAre scholarship recipient, an ArmeniansForSuccess scholarship recipient, and a Ms. JD Law Student Limitless Leadership Award recipient. She plans to move to New York after graduating to work in transactional law and is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of law students. Danielle Mikaelian has spoken at schools like Columbia, UCLA, Berkeley, and USC to help provide advice to aspiring law school applicants.  https://www.theivydream.com/ [https://www.theivydream.com/]

Breaking Barriers from South Tucson to Oxford & Yale: Bill De La Rosa

Bill De La Rosa is a JD/PhD candidate at Yale Law School and Oxford University, Hurst Horizon Scholar, writer, and public speaker. Raised in South Tucson, Arizona, he became the primary caregiver for his family following his mother’s removal from the United States during his sophomore year of high school. Bill graduated from Bowdoin College Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in Sociology and Latin American Studies, receiving notable awards such as the Dell, Gates Millennium, and Truman Scholarships. He was also named the 2016 national Hispanic Scholar of the Year. As both a Marshall and Clarendon Scholar, Bill completed two master’s degrees at the University of Oxford—one in Migration Studies and another in Criminology and Criminal Justice—and is now pursuing his PhD in Criminology, where he focuses on the human impact of U.S. border security policies. With extensive experience advocating for immigrant rights, Bill continues to advocate for immigrant rights and hopes to inspire others through public service and legal scholarship. https://www.theivydream.com/ [https://www.theivydream.com/]